In translating Benjamin Franklin’s 1728 shorthand ledger entry for Edward Farmar, did he publish one hundred lines or one hundred copies of a piece entitled “Accts. of Pennsylvania?” The pluralization of accounts would suggest copies, but which “Account of Pennsylvania?” And why? Did Edward write and publish a book!?
Benjamin Franklin Early Years
In 1723, Edward Farmar was a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly when Benjamin Franklin appeared advocating the printing and usage of paper money. Edward was also present when authorizing bonds and commissioning Franklin to print more of the “Pennsylvania pound.” New Castle and Kent Counties in Delaware had a currency of their own and Edward is listed in an advertisement within the 1726 Mercury newspaper as one of sixty merchants accepting the currency.[1]
1764 three pence note. Doug Coldwell (08 September 2021) CCA-SA 3.0.
On 21 July 1726, Franklin departed from his short stay in London and returned on 11 October to Philadelphia. He secured employment with his former boss, Samuel Keimer, with whom he had worked between October 1723 and March 1724. Two years later, he quit on 01 June 1728 establishing a printing company with his partner, fellow Keimer printer Hugh Meredith.
One of his very early customers was Edward Farmar:
1728: Edward Farmer Esq. Dr. For printing 100 Accts. of Pennsylvania, 1.14.6 [Miller A1]. Contra, For Cash, 1.0.0. For Wm. Dewees junior’s Assumption, 14.6, Total 1.14.6. Ledger A&B 174-75.[2]
Identifying the “Account of Pennsylvania”
In translating Franklin’s 1728 shorthand ledger entry, did Benjamin publish one hundred lines or one hundred copies of a piece entitled “Accts. of Pennsylvania?” The pluralization of accounts would suggest copies, but which Account of Pennsylvania? And why? Did Edward Farmar write and publish a book!?
The papers brought into this meeting last year, left by our deceased Friend, Caleb Pusey [d. 25 February 1727], came under consideration being an essay or preparation for a history of the first settlement of Friends in these countries, and many Friends appearing desirous to have such a history carried on, this meeting orders the papers to be delivered to David Lloyd who offered himself to that service, who with Isaac Norris are deserved to view and consider thm and make what progress they can therein. Friends who have any memorials or collections to the purpose are desired to furnish those Friends therewith as expeditiously as may be.[4]
The timeline fits although “in 1970 Willman Spawn of the American Philosophical Society Library discovered and identified the Pusey manuscript” where it was then transcribed and published.[5] Had Edward published Caleb’s manuscript more than two hundred forty years earlier? When examining the price paid for Penn’s, Thomas’, Budd’s, or Pusey’s rather lengthy history books with the relatively same price for advertisements in the Pennsylvania Gazette, it seems unlikely Edward ordered copies of any of these works, unless the costs of printing newspapers ads ten years later rivalled that of publishing and binding books in 1728.
Thomas Makin’s Encomium Pennsylvaniae
The most likely possibility is Thomas Makin’s Encomium Pennsylvaniae or simply A Description of Pennsylvania (1728), a 76-line Latin poem dedicated to James Logan and later translated in English for Israel Pemberton on 10 July of that year.[6] But as to the reason why Edward would print one hundred copies, the following may provide some insight.
Thomas Makin obituary. Pennsylvania Gazette (22 November 1733), p.5.
On Monday Evening laft [19 November 1733], Mr. Thomas Meakins fell off a Wharff into the Delaware and before he could be taken out again, was drowned. He was an ancient Man, and formerly liv’d very well in this City, teaching a confiderable school; but of late Years was reduc’d to extream poverty.[7]
Eight lines from Makin’s poem accompanied his obituary. In 1728, Edward Farmar had at least three children of age enrolled in receiving an education and Makin may have been a teacher to Thomas, Rachel, or Joseph… and possibly Mary. There is no mention of Edward in the minutes of the Provincial Council or the Provincial Assembly being directed to print, sell, or distribute a publication. It may appear that Edward assisted the old, former Assembly clerk in reversing his poverty by supplying Makin printed copies of his poem to sell, while simultaneously assisting a young 22-year-old printing entrepreneur with big ideas for Pennsylvania.[8]
Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette
Announcement of Samuel Keimer, 01 October 1728.
On 01 October 1728, Keimer announced a new newspaper would be published in the following month called The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences; and Pennsylvania Gazette but moved to Barbados within a year to escape his debt. Franklin on 02 October 1729 purchased the newspaper and shortened the name to the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin’s surviving ledgers and shop books has entries for Edward and his relations, including entries for his map-making cousin Nicholas Scull II. There are also some entries for his son-in-law Peter Robeson and some entries for his son Samuel Farmar coinciding with their advertisements for land sales, calls to collect on debts, and notices for runaway servants, slaves, or horses.
Announcement of Samuel Farmar. Pennsylvania Gazette (10 March 1742), p.4. Joseph Woolen was the son of Samuel’s second wife Mary (___, Barge, Woolen) Farmar.
As the owner of several local paper mills in Cresham Township and Germantown Township, there are numerous entries with Edward’s son-in-law William Mehls Dewees, who had joined Franklin’s Junto club, meeting on Friday evenings to discuss self-improvement, mutual aid, and ideas to better Philadelphia.
02 March 1729: Wednesday. Nicholas Scull, For 200 bail bonds. 16s.8d [Miller A5]
22 June 1729: Sunday. Nicholas Scull, For 100 summonses. 8s.4d [Miller A8]. 1 Doz. counter bail bonds. ls.8d [Miller A9]. Ledger A&B 172.
01 September 1729: Monday. Nicholas Scull, For 20 bail bonds [Miller A10]. l.8. Ledger A&B l72.
05 October 1729: Sunday. Nicholas Scull, 100 notes of hand. 8s.4d [Miller A12]. For An Account Book, 10.4-1/2. Ledger A&B 172.
16 December 1729: Tuesday. Nicholas Scull, Dr. For an Advertisement of the Servt. in Gaz. 57 [16 Dec], 3.0. Ledger A&B 172. Cf. 15 June 1730.
22 September 1729: Monday. Nicholas Scull, For 200 bail bonds [Miller A11]. l.6.8. Ledger A&B l72.
01 April 1738: By an Order on Justice Farmer retd., 14.6., Total 99.3.4
20 March 1739: For Cash per Samuel Farmer, 1.10.0.
28 March 1739: Wm. Dewees, Dr. for Cash per Samuel Farmar, 1.10.0
07 July 1740: Mr. Nich[olas] Scull, Cr. in Part £6. Ledger D 149.
1740. Mr. Nich[olas] Scullis, Dr. For a Note of Hand in 1733, 5.0.0. Ledger D 149.
01 May 1741: Mr. Nich[olas] Scull, Dr. Cash pd. the Library, 10.0. Ledger D 149.
09 May 1745: Peter Robinson, Ind’n King, Dr. For Advt. of a Stray in [Gaz], N856 [9 May 1745], 5.0. Ledger D 220.
02 March 1746: Peter Robinson, Ind’n King, Dr. Copy Bk. 2.6. Ledger D 220.[9]
Scull, Nicholas; George Heap; & L. Hebert. A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent : with a perspective view of the State-House (1752). Library of Congress; G3824.P5 1752 .S3.
[1] Scharf et al, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, vol.1 (1884), p.203.
[2] Lemay. “The Accounts of Benjamin Franklin Through 1747.” University of Delaware. 2006.
[3] Yeakle references Francis Rawle’s “Account of Pennsylvania” with a quote from Rawle’s Ways and Means for the Inhabitants of Delaware to Become Rich printed by Samuel Keimer in 1725, where in some publications it incorrectly states the work was printed by Benjamin Franklin. (Yeakle, “Whitemarsh,” Historical Sketches. A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol.1 (1895), p.24).
[8] With 12 pence in a shilling, and 20 shillings in 1 pound, Edward spent 240p to print 100 copies, and Makin’s profit would be any value exceeding a unit cost of ~2-1/2p. For comparison, Franklin printed his 6600-word pamphlet a year later in Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency (1729) and sold each copy for 6p.
[9] Lemay, “The Accounts of Benjamin Franklin Through 1747,” University of Delaware. 2006. Entries noted by “Miller” reference the imprints recorded in C. William Miller’s Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia Printing (1974), pp.457-474.
In 1685, Major Jasper Farmar’s son, Samuel, remained in Ireland while the family moved to Pennsylvania. Four years later, Samuel would also immigrate to America. This is the story of his son, Dr. Richard Farmar, who settled in Philadelphia.
In the previous blog, we mention how Burke’s Landed Gentry states that Major Samuel Farmar’s “valuable estates in Virginia” were “lost by his children, in consequence of their adherence to the royal cause in the American war.” The following has been excerpted and edited from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
Major Samuel’s son, Richard Farmar, was a doctor, and according to a notice in the 11 October 1739 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he recently arrived and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One can imagine Dr. Farmer attending to his uncle in the six years prior to Edward Farmar’s death in 1745.
“…Richard Farmar, Professor of Physick, Surgery, Chymistry and Pharmacy (lately come to this City and settled next Door but one to Owen Owen’s in Market-Street)…”[1]
Various other notices also appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette including the sale of a female slave, property, and various items from his shop on Second Street. These articles, along with other research regarding wills, real estate, indentured servants, and philanthropy, have been included in the book.
Richard married first, Mary ___, and from this marriage came two sons:
Richard Farmar, died on 07 September 1779 and buried at Christ Church.
William Farmar. No other information available, presumed to have died very young.
Both sons died with no children. When his wife Mary died on 01 December 1745, she was buried at Christ Church. Dr. Farmar married second, Sarah Carmick, born 15 January 1721/2, daughter of a prominent merchant, Peter and Sarah (Hall) Carmick of Salem, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] Dr. Farmar and Sarah had one daughter, Sarah Farmar, born in 1753.
Richard’s wife Sarah died 02 July 1761 and was buried next to her sister Elizabeth (Carmick) Campbell at Christ Church. Shortly before 12 November 1763, Richard sailed from Philadelphia to Bristol, England and married third, Elizabeth “Eliza” Holroyd.
Dr. Farmar built a new “mansion house” for his wife Eliza as reported in a 1774 letter she wrote to her nephew John Holroyd. It is this house that has been described as being identical to Madame Farmar’s house; Madame Farmar as wife to Major Jasper would have been Richard’s grandmother. If the houses of Madame Farmer and Dr. Farmar were identical as mentioned, the house was described as follows:
“The only one of the old Colonial houses with a gable pointed toward the road. It was a two-story brick house, very substantially built. The materials were imported. The entrance was by a massive door which swung back into a wide hallway, brilliant from floor to ceiling with plate glass mirrors. The rooms on the first floor opened into the hallway on each side. They were wainscoted to the ceiling. One was also paneled most artistically. In this room a massive iron safe was built into the wall. The place was heated by large open fireplaces.”[7]
Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War on 19 April 1775, Richard’s wife Eliza was dismayed by the actions of the British, evidenced in a letter to her nephew Jack Halroyd, a clerk at the East India Company in London.
“June 28th, 1775
My Dear Jack-
We have nothing going on now but preparations for war… there is hardly a man that is not old but is leaving, except the Quakers; and there is two Companys of them, all in a Pretty Uniform of Sky blue turn’d up with white. There is Six or Seven different sorts of Uniforms beside a Company of light Horse and one Rangers and another of Indians: these are all of Philadelphia; besides all the Provinces arming and Training in the same Manner for they are all determined to die or be Free. It is not the low Idle Fellow that fight only for pay, but Men of great property are Common Soldiers who secretagogue hgh say they are fighting for themselves and Posterity. There is accounts come that they are now fighting at Boston and that the Army set Charles Town on fire in order to land the Troops under cover of the Smoak…
The People are getting into Manufacture of different Sorts particularly Salt Peter and Gunpowder; the Smiths are almost all turned Gunsmiths and cannot work fast enough. God knows how it will end but I fear it will be very bad on both sides; and if your devilish Minestry and parliment don’t make some concesions and repeal the Acts, England will lose America for, as I said before, they are determined to be free…”[8]
When the British captured Philadelphia on 23 September 1777, General George Washington sought a way to recapture the city. On 04 October 1777, British Lieutenant General William Howe was headquartered with his troops in Germantown Township at James Logan’s house, now occupied by his grandson Dr. George Logan.[9] Washington divided his army into four groups with each group marching in the night along different paths. The American forces attacked in the pre-dawn fog with initial success. The British retreated, burning the fields to cover their escape in the smoke.
Some of the retreating British troops took refuge in the house of Benjamin Chew, which had been vacated on 04 August 1777. After bombarding the house to no affect and after trying to storm the house, Washington stopped his efforts and cordoned the house. This half hour delay, along with the fog, limited ammunition, lack of coordination, and several blunders, including one of his brigades never advancing and a drunk commander, General Adam Stephen, firing into General Anthony Wayne’s troops, costs Washington the victory.
The Siege of Chew’s House during the Battle of Germantown.
After three hours and surrounded by British troops, the American troops surrendered the “Battle of Germantown” en masse and the remaining troops re-organized at Pennypacker’s Mill. The battle wasn’t a total defeat. Not only did it provide a morale boost because of the near win, but it proved that Americans could stand up and fight against the British, which influenced the French to assist the American cause. Fortunately for Washington, had the British exploited the battle field and pursued Washington’s army, they would have defeated the entire American force, and presumably could have ended the war. One of the soldiers that fought with distinction was General Anthony Wayne, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania.[10]
After the defeat at the Battle of Germantown, Washington’s army retreated along several paths and encampments until November 2, when Washington marched his forces to Whitemarsh Township. Howe, on his return march, burned all of the houses and businesses between Germantown Township and Philadelphia, including the Rising Sun Inn which was owned by William Maulsby, the son of Merchant Maulsby, Sr.[11]
Howe had decided to make one last attempt to destroy Washington’s army before the onset of winter. Through the reports of Lydia Darragh, a Quaker housewife, Washington was provided advance notice of Howe’s troop movements. Washington needed to ensure a victory as word about his leadership in the Continental Congress had started rumors of his replacement. His men were also cold, hungry, tired, unpaid since late summer, and discouraged having lost two major battles and the City of Philadelphia. By December 1, Washington was disappointed that the British had not yet attacked.
On midnight of December 4, Howe’s 14,000 men marched out of Philadelphia to Whitemarsh Township. That morning, 15,000 men of the Continental Army were awake and prepared, although Washington finds the British forces “much stronger than I had reason to expect for the accounting I had received…”[12]
Near Chestnut Hill in the pre-dawn hours on December 5, a short and fierce fight ensued and the Pennsylvanians retreated when the militia commander, General William Irvine, was captured. In three days of maneuvering, Howe’s troops moved back and forth across the American front, keeping about a mile away, while the Americans shadowed the British and denied Howe any point of attack. As Howe’s soldiers marched and countermarched, they burned the houses in Cresheim and Beggarstown. Johann Ewald, a German officer serving with the British, describes the scene on the night of December 6:
“The sight was horrible. The night was very dark. The blazing flames spread about with all swiftness and the wind blew violently. The cries of human voices of the young and old, who had seen their belongings consumed by the flames without saving anything, put everyone in a melancholy.”[13]
Robert Morton, a Quaker teenager from Philadelphia, writes in his diary that the soldiers…
“…committed great outrages on the inhabitants… as if the sole purpose of the expedition was to destroy and to spread ruin and desolation, to dispose the inhabitants to rebellion by despoiling their property…”[14]
Throughout the day of December 7, Howe made one last effort in a series of small-scale skirmishes in the thick woods known as the Battle of Edge Hill, but no full-scale battle developed. The next day, Howe, realizing he can neither outflank Washington nor draw him into the open, marched back to Philadelphia. Washington is disappointed as noted in his letter to Congress.
“I sincerely wish, that they had made an Attack… The Issue in all probability, from the disposition of our Troops and the strong situation of our Camp, would have been fortunate and happy… At the same time I must add that reason, prudence, and every principle of policy, forbad us quitting our post to attack them. Nothing but Success would have justified the measure, and this could not be expected from their position…”[15]
Battle of Whitemarsh
At the conclusion of the “Battle of White Marsh,” and with the British thirteen miles away in Philadelphia for the winter, the Continental Army left Whitemarsh on December 11. After an eight-day journey to travel thirteen miles, Washington and his army of 12,000 arrive at Valley Forge to the manor home of Edward Farmar’s grandson, Lieutenant Colonel William Farmar Dewees. Valley Forge’s high terrain overlooking wide, open areas and the proximity to the Schuylkill River provided advantages for supply movements, training, and protection against surprise enemy attacks. Approximately 1300 to 1600 huts of varying size, material, and construction were built for living quarters. For six months from 18 December 1777 to 19 June 1778, the army faced supply shortages, malnutrition, starvation, and disease where 1,700 to 2,000 soldiers and 1,500 horses died.
General Washington had earlier sent Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stewart to defend the Dewees home. During this visit, Thomas first met Edward Farmar’s granddaughter, Rachel Dewees, a young and very lovely girl who was not quite eighteen years old. In a case of love at first sight, both were married only only a few months after they first met. After the wedding, the bridal party and their host of friends were returning to Thomas’ home in Bucks County on horseback when they met Washington. The General drew up his troops on each side of the road, then dismounted and congratulated Stewart and his bride. He also claimed the privilege of a kiss from the bride, who was well-known to General Washington.[16]
When Richard’s daughter, Sarah, fell in love with Major William Bowers, a Continental soldier, her parents were averse to the marriage. Tradition says that “Miss Sallie,” under the cover of darkness, climbed out of a second story window and eloped in 1778. Two sons were born to them; the eldest, Richard Farmar Bowers, was ordained minister of the Wesleyan United Society of Kensington, on 01 January 1827. The house passed on to Pastor Bowers, and when he died, “The Bowers Mansion” became the property of his second wife, whose maiden name was Marie Tilton. She occupied the house until her death in 1886, when the lot was purchased and the house demolished for a new Young Men’s Christian Association building.[17]
Richard’s wife Eliza died 11 August 1789 and was buried at Christ Church cemetery in Philadelphia. Richard died less than two years later and was also buried 18 January 1791 at Christ Church.
During the American Revolutionary War, Richard’s brother Samuel was in Norfolk, Virginia. He didn’t fare so well.
To be continued…
Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research.
click me
“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King
“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker
“Amazing research!“ Ms. J. Shipley
“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…”Mr. D. Roark
[1]Pennsylvania Gazette, 11 October 1739, p.3; Pennsylvania Gazette, 25 October 1739, p.4; Pennsylvania Gazette, 01 November 1739, p.4.
[2] Abstract of Peter Carmick’s will: “1754, July 13. Carmick, Peter, of Philadelphia, but late of Salem Town and Co., merchant… Children— Stephen, Elizabeth Campbell, and Sarah Farmar, Dec’d son John mentioned. House and lot of 16 acres in Salem Town; two lots of marsh and 12 a. of land in said Town, next to the Meeting House; sawmill on the West side of Morris River in Cumberland Co.; land on either side of said river; 1,000 acres in Piles Grove, Salem Co.; personal property. Executors — the son and daughters. Witnesses—John Hatkinsori, Daniel Dupuy, John Reily. Codicil of July 5, 1755, makes unimportant changes. Witnesses—William Savery Branson van Leer, John Reily. Proved Feb. 20, 1759 (Honeyman, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. III, 1751-1760, p.53).
[3] Neible, “Account of Servants Bound and Assigned Before James Hamilton, Mayor of Philadelphia,” p.200.
[4] “Abstract of Wills at Philadelphia.” Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania vol. 3, p.189-190.
[5] Honeyman, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Volume III, 1751-1760, p.32-33.
[6] Cook, Farmer of Ardevalaine, p.118. Original citation Loose Surveys, Philadelphia Contributionship; Microfilm Roll #3, HSP.
[7] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, p.13. Original citation Pennsylvania Magazine of History, vol.4, p.451.
[9] James Logan died in 1751. The house, named “Stenton Mansion” was inherited by his son William Logan, and after his death in 1776, passed to William’s son Dr. George Logan.
[10] Anthony Wayne (01 January 1745 – 15 December 1796). Member of Pennsylvania Assembly, 1774-1775, 1784. Member of the Committee of Safety, 1775. Commissioned Colonel Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, 03 January 1776. Commissioned Brigadier General in the American Army, 21 February 1777. Beveted Major-General, 10 October 1783. Elected to United States Congress from Georgia, 1719-1722. Appointed General-in-Chief of the United States Army with the rank of Major General, 03 April 1792.
[11] Barnard, Early Maltby, With Some Roades History and that of the Maulsby Family in America, p.153. William Maulsby, son of Merchant Maulsby, Sr., married Hannah Coulston, the granddaughter of Jacob and Ann Rhodes, at the Old Swedes’ Church, Philadelphia, in 1756. In 1763 he removed his certificate from Gwynedd to Philadelphia. He was owner of the Rising Sun Inn, on the Germantown Road, in Germantown Township, eleven miles from the city of Philadelphia.
[12] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.
[13] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.
[14] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.
[15] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.
[16] Jordan, et al. Personal Memoirs of The Lehigh Valley, p.42-43.
[17] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, And Some of Their Descendants in America, p.13.
As large landowners in southeast County Cork, Ireland, the Penn’s and the Farmar’s knew each other and continued their relationship into early 1700 Pennsylvania. The following is excerpted from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
Musketeers at the Battle of Stratton, 16 May 1643. This battle during the English Civil War (1642-1651) shows an example of how the men under Major Jasper Farmar’s command would appear.
As early as 1677, William Penn was part of a group purchasing land in the western side of present New Jersey. Once the land was acquired, they immediately encouraged its settlement, particularly among English Quakers. Surprisingly, British Parliament and King Charles II granted Penn a charter in March 1681 as the sole proprietor of land that would become Pennsylvania. Historians have suggested that the British government, by granting the land to Penn, had hoped the troublesome Quakers would leave England. Some historians suggest that it was part of a debt repayment to his father Sir William Penn. Others suggest that, through his relationship with the Duke of York, it ensured James a friendly neighbor who was concurrently the proprietor of New York immediately to the north of “Penn’s Land.”
To build his new province, William began negotiating and purchasing tracts of land from the local Indians. Penn then immediately began an active promotion throughout Europe to market and resell his property. To attract settlers in large numbers to his new province, William wrote a glowing prospectus in various languages that promised religious freedom as well as other advantages about the new land in America. Within six months he had parceled out 300,000 acres to over 250 prospective sellers, mostly rich London Quakers. Eventually he attracted other persecuted minorities including Huguenots, Mennonites, Anabaptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews from England, France, Holland, Germany, Finland, Wales, and Ireland.
One of his first customers was Major Jasper Farmar. Major Jasper had lived for many years upon his estate in Garranekinnefeake, or “Garron Kenny Fange” Parish, village of Midleton, County of Cork, Ireland. His brother, John Farmar, resided on his estate in the neighboring village of Youghal. William Penn’s father had been granted lands in County Cork, Ireland for his services during the English Civil War. With Sir Penn’s failing health, William was sent to manage the estate in 1666, and when Sir Penn died in 1670, young William, then twenty-six years old, inherited “Penn’s Castle” – over 5,000 acres across eight square miles of land near the present village of Shanagarry. The villages of Midleton, Youghal, and Shanagarry neighbor each other, and as large landowners in southeast County Cork, the Penn’s and Farmar’s knew each other.
As early as 29th day 10th month 1669, Penn writes in his diary…
“[29th day 10th month 1669] Major fformer & J.Bolese came to me. I had advise from F. din’d and sup’d at sh. I have perus’d Part of ye Jusu. Book.”[1]
[22nd day 11th month 1669] I mett Ger. ff’tz Ger’ld about ye windmill, we concluded on 44lb per An’o & what It shall be adjudg’d more worth by Farmer, & Gale. I paying quitrent.
[10th day 12th month 1669] we left youghall, & w. H. his daughter, R.C. & P.C. & ye rest of us Came to M. ffarmers, & thence to shangary, where we lay being Civilly treated.
[21st day 11 month 1669] I went & Coll Wallis to Coll. Phairs, about ye reference the land was returned 4s 3ds per acre. I paying quitrent. I abated 6d per Acre, & h’t was 3s 9d p Acre. we so agreed on all sides. He before C.Phair Beul ffarmer, Wallis &c: gave vp Inchs y’e hous not to touch & arrears of rent to pay. so we return’d home to C.Phairs ser’t 1s.
[1st day 12th month 1669]. M. ffarmer & M. woodly Came to C. Ceuls I. spoak to them. from thence we Went to Corke. J. Boles being with us. we meet with Coll. Phair. His wife. & seuerall of his ffamely.”[2]
Coincidentally, the Puritan immigration into America’s provinces came to an abrupt halt when Sir Oliver Cromwell came to power, since the primary reason to flee England, religious freedom, was removed. In an ironic twist of fate for a Royalist supporter, the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II in 1661 restored the “need” for immigration, and presumably from his acquaintance and conversations with Penn, provides Major Jasper with the seeds of thought to immigrate to Pennsylvania. Additionally, years earlier his great grandfather, George Fermor, had purchased shares in the Second Virginia Company Charter which funded the Jamestown, Virginia settlement as early as 1609 in which Major Jasper’s distant cousin, Thomas Farmer, had been living since 1616, although not much had been heard from him since 1632.[3]
Penn undoubtedly described Pennsylvania as being more beautiful and fertile than Ireland, with temperate weather, friendly Indians, plenty of wild game, and religious freedom – all overseen by a democratic government operating under a constitution where power was derived from the people.
Major Jasper, dissatisfied with the turbulent political and financial condition of affairs by which he was surrounded, and through his friendship with Penn, was led to embark for a new life by taking up a “Plantation” in the new Province of Pennsylvania. But at the age of seventy-two, with a wife in her late forties, and at least seven children still living at home, it was a personal investment fraught with doubt. One has to wonder the emotional debate and discussions between Major Jasper, Mary, and their children.
In 1682, Major Jasper sent his 29-year-old son, Jasper Farmar, Jr., to make a voyage of investigation in “Penn’s Land.” Pleased at what he discovered, Jasper Jr., on behalf of himself, his father Major Jasper, and his brother Richard, took up, in two tracts, five thousand acres of land by a proprietary patent dated 31 January 1683.
“L. S.: William Penn, Proprietary and Governor of Pennsylvania and the Territories thereunto belonging. At the request of Jaspar Farmar, Junior, in the behalf of his father, Major Jaspar Farmar, his brother Richard and himself, that I would grant him to take up 5,000 acres of land, being of the lands by the Indians called Umbilicamence, fronting At one end upon the River Schuylkill. These are to will and require thee forthwith to survey or cause to be surveyed unto him the said five thousand acres in the aforementioned place where not already taken up, according to the method of townships appointed by me, and make return thereof unto my Secretary’s office. Given at Philadelphia the 3lst of the l0th month, 1683. Wm. Penn. For Thomas Holmes, Surveyor-General.”[4]
Every obligation Major Jasper had with his family who wished to remain in Ireland, including his son Samuel, had been settled in preparation for the trip. His oldest daughter Elizabeth had died in 1682, and his daughter Mary Webber, who did not make the trip, had married and received from her father a large dowry. In late August 1685, Major Jasper’s family, as well as the family of his son Jasper Jr., the family of his daughter Katherine Webb, and the servants of all three families, boarded the ship Bristol Merchant commanded by Captain John Stephens. By doing so, Major Jasper Farmar made a full life-changing decision backed by a strong financial commitment. The trip was extremely expensive. Not only were there the costs of the passage for all of his family and their servants, but there was also the added expense to ship all of the family belongings, including their furniture.
The weakness and loss of weight for the passengers aboard the Bristol Merchant left them vulnerable to diseases, and at the age of seventy-five, Major Jasper Farmar was especially vulnerable. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Mary Farmar buried her husband Major Jasper, her stepson Jasper Jr., her stepdaughter Katherine, and perhaps several others whose names have been lost in history. After a ten-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the Bristol Merchant arrived into the port of Philadelphia, on 10th day 9th month 1685.[5]
“Madame Farmar” settled the land with her family in the fall of 1685, and the surroundings must have been like the Old World, all within eyesight of the neighboring “Manor of Springfield” – land located northwest of Madame Farmar that William Penn had gifted to his first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett in 1681. The entire Farmar plantation would soon become Whitemarsh Township within Montgomery County, and is so named today in the same boundary lines.
Thomas Holmes’ “A Mapp of Ye Improved Part of Pensilvania in America, Divided Into Countyes, Townships and Lotts….” (published circa 1687). Farmar’s plantation located in the center of the map, in present Whitemarsh Township.
Lime was manufactured in Whitemarsh at a very early day, and probably earlier than at any other place in the province. In a letter from Dr. Nicholas More,[6] a physician from London, Chief Justice, and President of the Free Society of Traders, dated from his residence at Green Spring, in the manor of Moreland, 13 September 1686, to William Penn, then in England, that…
“Madame Farmar has found out as good limestone on the Schuylkill as any in the world, and is building with it; she offers to sell ten thousand bushels at sixpence the bushel upon her plantation, where are several considerable hills, and near to your manor of Springfield.”[7]
Madame Farmar was not only optimistic and energetic, but an astute and proven business woman, frequently mentioned with very great respect. James Logan writing to William Penn of Madame Farmer, says “she is a woman of great business ability, and tact.”
Madame Farmar died in late 1686, leaving her estate to her surviving 14-year-old son Edward Farmar. Beginning in the early 1690s, Edward began buying land and selling parcels of the original 5000 patent in 100- to 200-acre plots. The sales served two purposes, one of which was to raise money to cover his expenses, and the other was to satisfy one of the agreement terms when the land was purchased from William Penn. Penn had stipulated that the property was to be subdivided as it was never his intention to re-create a large feudal estate in America as existed in England and Ireland.
In a letter from William Penn to James Logan, Penn references Edward’s desire to confirm ownership of 100 acres in the Manor of Springfield and to sell him an additional 100 acres for £100, a request not satisfied until 1713.
London 28th 5 m 1702 “…pray quiet ed. Farmer, J. Growden, &c: till my son comes, unless I should have more time to [be] perticuler now, w’ch is doubtfull, the winde being faire, after long westerly winds… For the land, It is asking me so much mony out of my pocket. Nor will I let it goe for 4 or 500 acres, but to reduce his other pretentions, & give security for the overplus of the value, if any. And in case it ever was a part of the Mannor of Springfield, I can part with such a quantity. But more of this per my son; only tell ed. Farmer no body else, if not he, shall have a foot of the land requests of me. vale.”[8]
With all of the land buying and selling, Edward has not sold enough property in forty-four years to satisfy William Penn’s agreement with his father Major Jasper Farmar and his brother Jasper Farmar, Jr. as evidenced by the minutes of the Assembly on 11th day 12th month 1734/5:
“That the late Prop’r was pleased to Grant to his father and Uncles who were purchasers of the Tract of 5,000 Acres of Land since called White Marsh the Priviledge of two Fairs every Year and a Market once a Week to be kept on the said Tract of Land provided that within five years they should procure twenty familys to settle and dwell there, which he confesses was not complyed with…”[9]
Edward was commissioned as one of the Justices of the Peace for Philadelphia County on 02 September 1701, and again on 04 September 1704.[10] It was an office he would hold for twenty-six consecutive years to 1727, and again continuously from 1728 until his death in 1745 for a span of over forty years.
For Edward, the office gave him the opportunity to work with his 25-year-old nephew Thomas Farmar, the son of Edward’s brother Jasper Jr. and Widow Katherine, who had made the trip to Pennsylvania at the age of ten on the Bristol Merchant. Thomas was personally appointed by William Penn as the High Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County on 20 June 1700 and was appointed again in 1701.
Part of his duties was to act as a water bailiff with the power to execute all legal process against any person, ship, or goods upon the Delaware River. Believing that the commission infringed upon his authority, Governor Robert Quary of Carolina complained on 14 November 1700 to the Lords of the Admiralty and the responsibilities were removed from Thomas.[11] As High Sheriff, Thomas was to keep the peace and enforce the law, while his uncle Edward Farmar as Justice of the Peace would have tried the cases and meted the punishment to those Thomas arrested. Among his other duties was to collect taxes, a task he did not do well for fear of making himself unpopular with the citizens who did not like the levies. After Edward Shippen,[12] Nathan Stanbury, Isaac Norris, and William Carter made a complaint to the Council on 03 February 1702, the responsibility was then relegated to William Tonge who was appointed on recommendation of the Governor and Council as “under sheriff” to collect the taxes and do it promptly.[13] Additionally, John Furnis was also employed by William Penn in 1701 to collect the £2000 tax in the town, “after Thomas Farmer had failed to discharge his Duty therein.”[14]
Thomas held the office until he resigned his commission in August 1703 with a desire to move back to England as noted in the Council minutes.
“Thomas Farmar High Sheriff of the City and County of Philadelphia acquainted ye Board that having a design to transport himself to England he must crave leave to lay down his said office, and therefore requested the Board that another might be appointed.”[15]
Another Farmar-Penn connection occurs on 22 August 1751, when 27-year-old Lady Juliana Fermor, Edward’s third cousin-twice removed, marries 49-year-old Thomas Penn, the son of William Penn, in St. George’s Church in Hanover. A section has been included in the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
[1] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59.
[2] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59, p.62, p.63, p.65. Penn’s use of the abbreviations “F.” or “ff.” may also reference Major Jasper, but have been omitted. References to “M. ffarmer” and other various spellings denotes Major Jasper, whereas the omission of “M.” may be to Jasper’s brother John.
[3] Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer: His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” p.15-16. Major Jasper Farmar’s grandfather, George Fermor, and Thomas Farmer’s father, John Farmer of Cookham, were second cousins as both were the great grandchildren of Thomas Richards alias Fermor. It is highly questionable if Major Jasper (born 1610) knew Thomas Farmer (born 1593) as Major Jasper was age six when Thomas departed for Virginia in 1616. It is possible that during the return trips Thomas made to England, that he did meet Major Jasper, or news of Thomas’ stories in America from other relatives may have reached Major Jasper.
[5] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.203 states “September 10, 1685” possibly due to a mistranslation between Julian and Gregorian calendars.
[6] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.vii of Appendix. Nicholas More, a physician from London, arrived soon after William Penn, in 1682, and had conveyed to him by patent, 7th of Sixth Month, 1684, the manor of Moreland, containing nine thousand eight hundred and fifteen acres. About 1685 he commenced thereon the erection of buildings, where he lived and died, calling the place Green Spring.
[7] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.1139; Hobson et al., Centennial Celebration of Montgomery County, p.53; Published in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 4, p. 445.
[8] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4: 1701-1718, p.179 & p.181. Joseph Growden claimed 14,000 acres between Poquessing Creek and Neshaminy Creek, but William Penn had agreed to a total of 10,000 acres if Growden could find his father’s deed, and only 5000 acres if not.
[9] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.97. From the minutes of 11th day 12th month 1734/5.
[10] Reference Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia for additional dates and Justices.
[11] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4: 1701-1718, p.75.
[12] Edward Shippen (1639-1712), a wealthy Quaker merchant, Mayor, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice, and president of the Provincial Council. Born in Methley, Yorkshire, England, he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1668 and then to Philadelphia in 1693-1694. His “Great House,” which was on Second Street, north of Spruce, and overlooked Dock Creek and the river beyond, was occupied for a time in 1699 by William Penn and his family during his second visit (Myers, Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey, and Delaware, 1630-1707, p.332).
[13] Browning, “Philadelphia Business Directory of 1703,” p.734; Scharf, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, p.180.
[14] Roach, Colonial Philadelphians, p.50. “John Furnis,barber in 1701, had arrived in October 1683 with his father Henry Furnis, and relatives most of whom, including John , were indentured to Robert Turner for four years. Henry took up on rent in 1685 a 50 by 100 foot lot at the northwest corner of Vine and Second Street “in the Governor’s Land adjoining the city;” here he, a sadler by trade, was taxed on an estate rated at £30 in 1693. In 1701, when John Furnis applied for the headland due his relatives, amounting in all to 350 acres, he [was appointed by Penn].”
[15]Minutes of the Provincial Council, vol. 2, p.66.
Philip Farmer is currently assisting families break down their genealogical brick walls and find information on their ancestors. He is also the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.
In 1751, notices appeared in the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette that Samuel Farmar at the age of fifty-six had been released from debtors’ prison.
“Whereas Samuel Farmar, of the township of White-marsh, in the county of Philadelphia, upon Petition to the justices of the court of Common Pleas, was lately discharged from confinement for debt, by virtue of the law, for the relief of insolvent debtors, and his lands and effects were, by appointment of the court, assigned to the subscribers, for the use of themselves, and other the creditors of the said Samuel Farmar…”
It wasn’t uncommon for men of prominent status to find themselves in debt. Two signers of the Declaration of Independence spent time in debtors’ prison – James Wilson and Robert Morris. Wilson suffered financial ruin from a land speculation bubble that resulted in the Panic of 1796-1797. He was imprisoned while serving as the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court before he died of a stroke in 1798. Although regarded as one of the founders of the United States financial system, co-signer Robert Morris also invested heavily in land. He too was affected by the Panic of 1796-1797, went bankrupt, and spent three years in Prune Street Debtors’ Prison from 1798-1801. William Penn was imprisoned for debt in England, partially due to his partner’s embezzlements, and partly due to his son William Jr.’s gambling debts.
According to the article, Samuel settled all of his debts by transferring his land to William Barge and Peter Robeson. William Barge was Samuel’s stepson by marriage to William’s mother Mary Barge Wooling in 1741. Peter Robeson was his brother-in-law having married Samuel’s sister, Sarah Farmar. With all debts settled, Samuel moved his wife and children to Rowan County, North Carolina, an area that his daughter Martha and son-in-law Israel Boone were residing.
In an interview with Reverend John J. Dickey on 05 May 1898, Felix Gilbert Farmer states:
“My grandfather, Stephen, was born on the New River, North Carolina… The Farmers are German not Dutch…”
Actually, Stephen was English.
Modern DNA and other genealogical research shows that Stephen was the great grandson of Edward Farmar. It also shows that Stephen was a distant relative of Thomas Farmer the Adventurer, who came to Jamestown, Virginia in 1616.
Edward was the youngest son of Major Jasper Farmar, an English officer serving and residing in Ireland.
So why would Felix think that his ancestors were German, and not Dutch?
It is highly likely that the German immigrants settling in the Appalachians were commonly referred to as “Dutch” due to the similarity in pronouncing Deutsch. However, this doesn’t explain why Felix would claim his heritage as German.
In 1685, Major Jasper and almost all of his family immigrated to Pennsylvania aboard the Bristol Merchant. The 5,000-acre tract that his father purchased comprises present Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County. Before 1854, Whitemarsh Township neighbored Germantown Township, Philadelphia County. The Frankfurt Land Company and thirteen families from Germany first settled this area in 1683, hence its name.
Within a year, most of Edward’s family had either died on the transatlantic voyage or soon after arriving into Philadelphia. Orphaned at the age of fourteen, Edward furthered his education in Pennsylvania. Edward would also work closely with Francis Daniel Pastorius, one of the early prominent settlers of Germantown.
With the neighboring Germantown and the increase in German immigration, more than a third of the local citizens would soon be speaking the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, which sounds similar to German. As Edward’s sons and grandsons immigrated into North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky with the other settlers, it is highly likely that Stephen still had his Pennsylvania Dutch accent.
